Pro Arte

Artist and entrepreneur Roy Thompson founded Pro Arte in 1973 with an ambition to make and sell the best brushes in the world. Thanks to the subsequent help of his son, Peter, he has, by wide aclaim today, largely succeeded.
‘Largely’ is a reminder that this process will always be ongoing. New materials, suggest new techniques and tools. Pro Arte have an enviable record of collaboration with artists in developing them.
It was ever thus. Natural hair, particularly sable, is subject to the habitat and climatic environment in which the animal lives. As this varies, so does the ability to produce the best brush products.
Driven by such disappointing inconsistency, 30 years ago Pro Arte investigated sythetic alternatives. After painstaking Research and Development they came up with a breakthrough using a polyester filament. It changed brushmaking forever and Pro Arte distinguished this new brush with a black handle, tipped it with gold and named it Prolene.